The statements in this section merely provide background information related to the present disclosure and may not constitute prior art.
Satellite television is increasing in popularity due to the ever-increasing amount of programming as well as the quality of programming. Impulse pay-per-view occurs when a customer selects to purchase content directly from the user device, such as a set top box, in response to a menu or other prompt. The program is authorized for viewing by the set-top-box, and the impulse pay-per-view selection is communicated from the set-top-box to a billing system for billing the customer the appropriate amount. Another type of pay-per-view system is order-ahead pay-per-view. Order-ahead pay-per-view occurs when a customer selects to purchase using a customer-service agent, a website, a web-based cell phone, or interactive voice menu system. The order-ahead pay-per-view selection is communicated to the billing system for billing the customer the appropriate amount, and the viewing authorization is communicated to the set-top-box. Both impulse pay-per-view and order-ahead pay-per-view may be provided in a single system.
The service provider may communicate real-time content to all users at a specific scheduled time for live viewing or for recording by a DVR for later viewing. This is referred to as linear content. The service provider may also communicate non-real-time content that is faster or slower than normal program viewing. Such transmission is not intended for live viewing but is only intended for recording by a DVR for later viewing. This is referred to as non-linear content. The non-linear content may be provided at different rates and at different times as well. A pre-set broadcast schedule is not published, but the non-linear content may be recorded when a customer selects to record the content from a published list of available programs. This selection may be made from a user device, such as a set top box, or from a website or a web-based cell phone. Non-linear content may also be recorded to the DVR by the service-provider without prior user request. Non-linear content may also be recorded on-demand over the internet.
Linear content may be purchased by IPPV or OPPV for live viewing at the scheduled broadcast time. Linear and non-linear content may purchased by IPPV or OPPV for viewing recorded content.
When providing program information to users, a program guide is typically used. The program guide is a grid guide that lists various content that is available for viewing or for recording to a digital video recorder. A program guide includes a listing of channels and various programming at various times. As broadcasting systems increase the amount of content available, the program guide becomes somewhat cumbersome to manage. Often times, multiple channels provide the same content for viewing. Thus, it may be desirable to provide programming content without as much repetition as previous systems.
Broadcasting systems also provide programming information for all channels that is available to all users. The programming content is not available to certain subscribers based upon a subscription service. Such information takes up space and increases the time for a user to access data. Therefore, it would also be desirable to tailor the content available to a particular user.